ThePodcastSisters

Getting Things Done...On a Budget

When you run a small business it is easy to end up having little time to grow the company, as they are getting "bogged" down with tasks or learning how to do something. Something I learned early doors is that you can outsource many tasks, at a price that you would not believe possible.

Two sites that you can check out are Elance and Guru, both allow you to post what work you would like doing and by what deadline...then people bid to complete the work. I have always asked for examples of people's work and also phoned them to talk through the project before assigning the work.

Show 16b Community Tools

For those of you who like to play the show on your computer, you can play it via podcast FM site by clicking here. Make sure you click from the blog rather than through a reader. Thank you for all your comments regarding the Blubrry player - the bad news is that I cannot find anything wrong with the original file - it's rates, khz are all fine. I posted 2 shows yesterday both with identical settings - one plays the other doesn't.....it is a total mystery.

At least you can play the show now on a different site and enjoy the content.

Update

We are still trying to find the original reason - but Brian, Krishna's "better half" has put it into audio acrobat for you, press play and away you go....It works fine from the site, I have checked several times!! Thanks Brian.

This Weeks Show

I have no idea why, but this weeks show if you play through the blubrry player has the chipmunk effect. I am looking into it now - but the rates are all fine, therefore there must be another gremlin lurking!

Bare with me ! You can play though iTunes fine.

Show #16 - Community Tools

This week's audio show sees Anna talk to Penny Haynes about her new community mutimedia magazines and how you can provide value for your community and make money at the same time! We also talk to Danish podcasting consultant Karin Hogh about her new tool Podhandle, aimed at improving the listener interface for podcasts.

Karin has given me a link to be able to use Podhandle for this weeks show - I will do that tonight in a separate post and give me view on the ease of use!

Here are the links that we talk about on the show today

Online Community Magazines

Around Cherokee County

Penny's CD Collection and Training

Brain Storm Podcast

Podhandle

Sea Stallion - Example of Using Podhandle.

 

Come and join us over at the  Podcast Sisters Facebook group to discuss tonight's shows and also ideas for future shows that will deliver value to YOU. Remember get your questions into us at podcast.sisters@googlemail.com.

If you want to know more about us here are our profiles and the groups that we have for our companies
Anna Farmery
Heather Gorringe
Krishna De

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Free copywriting teleseminar

One of the first courses I attended when I set up own business was a creative writing skills course. The reason for this is that I realised I needed to change my style of writing from being staid corporate speak.

What I never realised is just how important the skills of writing compelling copy would be in growing my own business, from emails to sales letters, from blog posts to ezines.

Copywriting is a skill I encourage all business leaders to invest in. I am not suggesting that you need to write all your own copy - far from it. However with increased awareness in copywriting you can then direct your team on what you are looking for.

If you missed my seminar "Writing for the Web" then I would highly recommend you register to attend a no-cost seminar that is being given by my friend and copy writing mentor, Lorrie Morgan Ferrero.

You can access her teleseminar to kick start your copywriting process (value US$97) on Monday 27 August 2007 at 8pm ET.

This is a preview of her Red Hot Copywriting Bootcamp which I attended a few years ago and it is worth every $. What I can also tell you is that the teleseminar will be packed full of great content you can apply immediately to boost the effectiveness of your copywriting and attract more clients and more profits.

Attracting more clients through teleseminars and webinars

If you listened to our recent podcasts about teleseminars and webinars and how they can be used to attract more leads and more clients, you might be wondering what resources we recommend to support these two communication and engagement platforms.

Well here are some of the tools I use in my business - and of course they are either no-cost or low cost:

• Articulate presenter – I use this technology for delivering “on demand” webinars such as my Introduction to Personal Branding which is a free seminar, or for producing bespoke e-learning materials for clients on the subjects of corporate branding, employer branding, personal branding and new media
• Camtasia Studio – this is a low cost tool for creating on-demand webinars. I use this technology for creating video’s, for example an introduction video for participants to my programme about product creation to build your information empire and create new streams of revenue for your practice, as it will allow you to capture screen shots. A great free introduction and tutorial about Camtasia has been produced by my colleague Chris Austin
• Delivering webinars does not have to be as expensive as some providers would have you imagine. One technology provider advised me that they charge per person per minute who joins the webinar! Perhaps they are attracting big businesses with budgets that aren’t managed. I recommend a webinar provider who even provide you with a 30 day free trial – what could be better than that?
• I often get asked what telephone bridge line I recommend. I actually have several providers and they all offer different levels of functionality – for example do I need to have online monitoring of the call, or do I want to provide a local country specific telephone number. An alternative strategy if your listeners have broadband access is my favourite service provider to that I use for telewebcasts – where people can listen to your teleseminars over the web at no cost at all to them.

Leading effective and professional teleseminars and webinars is very different from public speaking and delivering live workshops which is why I have invested in learning and applying these skills over the last number of years and now teach these strategies to my clients.

So what questions do you have about hosting lead generating and business growth teleseminars and webcasts? Leave your questions here and I’ll answer them in future posts.

Podcamp UK

For all you podcasters out there, or for those thinking about podcasting, don't forget next weekend sees the UK Podcamp in Birmingham. It is free and a chance to network with other podcasters in the UK. All three "sisters" will be there so if you are going drop us a line so that we can meet you. We will probably be recording next weeks show there so why not come on the show and share your story.

As well as the above blog, there is also a podcamp wiki which lists all attendees, details of the sessions and travel details.

See you there....

Three common errors business bloggers make

Whether your business blog hosts resources and articles for your clients or it hosts your corporate podcast, how can you ensure that you achieve the results you deserve from investing time in authoring your business blog?

Here are three of the most common errors I see people making when authoring a business blog:

1. Not branding your business blog – by branding I recommend you look at the following three areas
(a) Ensuring that the name of your business blog connects to your business and the services you offer
(b) Making sure that the design of your business blog follows through from your corporate identity. There are many low cost and no cost blogging tools available which one of the reasons why business blogging has become so popular. That is fantastic – but please do not scrimp on investing in the design of your business blog to reflect your corporate identity and also making it easy to navigate for the readers of your business blog.
(c) Creating content that meets the needs of your target market and niche – consider your blog as a way to represent your unique expertise in your field.

2. Not connecting your business blog to your corporate website – if you have a corporate website make sure that you have a link from your website to your business blog. I do recommend that this link is not just a hyperlink to your blog which is authored on a separate platform. To ensure that you benefit from traffic to your business blog, I recommend that you use a blogging platform such as Wordpress.org where you can host your business blog alongside your website.

3. Not adding an about page – you might not realise it but your about page on your business blog or website is the second most likely page that people will click through to. It is important to have details about you and the team authoring your business blog as people want to check out who you are – they are genuinely interested in the authors of your business blog and they are also interested in assessing your professional credibility in the areas you are writing about.

Why not audit your business blog today and make sure that you have a plan in place to rectify these common mistakes.

And if you would like to read about four more common mistakes you can do so here.

Irish Internet Association and Enterprise Ireland Net Visionary Awards

The doors are now open for nominations for the Irish Internet Association and Enterprise Ireland Net Visionary Awards 2007.

This year the award categories are:

• Social Contribution
• Technology Journalist
• Innovation
• eGovernment
• Internet Marketer
• Web Designer
• Web Developer
• Online Trader
• Educational Contribution
• Internet Entrepreneur
• Mobile Internet
• Best Online Banking Service
• Best Podcaster
• Best Blogger
• Net Visionary of the Year 

Nominations for these categories must be in by 14 September 2007 and voting opens on 15 September 2007. The awards will take place on 15 November 2007 at the Mansion House, Duiblin.

Which Irish net visionaries will you be voting for?

YOU can write a Press Release

Press releases can be expensive for small businesses, but with the internet at least the distribution costs are reduced, if not free. The internet means that having no budget, or having no press contacts is no longer a constraint. I would always suggest an expert but here are some tips who cannot afford an agency

1. Understand the story you want to tell the world. Not just the facts but the story.
2. Get a friend to proof read the release. Ensure you ask someone who will give you honest feedback.
3. Before you write it, ask is it really news? Would I be interested in the story if I was a consumer?
4. Give the story context to something that is happening in the world.
5. Use the first couple of sentences to give a brief summary of the story.
6. Provide facts within the release as well as your story e.g.industry growth, research etc
7. Keep it short, keep to the point.
8. Go to a site like PR Newswire and read other releases...get a feel for what creates a good story.

Many pr sites give their insights into writing the "perfect" release, here is a link to How to Write a Press Release at PR Web - read them thoroughly. Key though is that even if you do not have a budget, do not have press contacts, you can still produce a release. PR Web have